Siegwerk, one of the leading global providers of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, further expands its range of sustainable ink solutions according to the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) principle focusing especially on solutions for flexible packaging. Based on its expertise in packaging circularity and its broad solution baseline of sustainable inks and varnishes including C2C-certified solutions, the company is increasingly driving the improvement of packaging recyclability by developing pioneering ink systems meeting the highest environmental standards.
“The continuously rising awareness in respect of sustainable packaging has a strong impact on a consumer’s choice of brand.” This further increases the pressure on brand owners of fast moving consumer goods to innovate their packaging structures and materials in order to maintain their differentiation advantages not only at the Point of Sale and usage but also post-consumption, explains Dr. Stefan Haep, head of technology and innovation brand owner collaboration at Siegwerk.
“C2C presents a well-accepted and scientifically proven method to validate the characteristics of sustainable materials, products and systems by putting a major role on the human and ecological health impact of the chemical substances used as constituents. With C2C, brand owners have the opportunity to demonstrate their innovation efforts to deliver their sustainability pledges.”
Developing ink solutions according to the C2C material health principle means that the design is based on materials that are inert to the environment and safe for the human health and enable the use in a closed biological loop system. Hereby, safe, and sustainable packaging components like printing inks are essentially important for the certification of the complete packaging. A C2C Material Health Gold certification guarantees the absence of any organohalogen constituents in the formulation (especially chlorine) and of any substances which have highly problematic properties in terms of at least one or even more of the 24 toxicological endpoints used by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (like carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic effects).
“Specifically, the holistic evaluation approach of the Cradle to Cradle principle including all individual packaging components makes it challenging for packaging developers to validate their packaging and gain the full C2C certification of the final product”, adds Stefan Haep. “That’s why finding the right partner is the key.” Users of Cradle to Cradle Material Health Gold certified inks are therefore enabled to claim using inks which are according to the current knowledge absolutely inert and thus safe for recycling processes and well fitting into the current Circular Economy approach.
In 2017, Siegwerk was the first ink manufacturer to be awarded “Cradle to Cradle Material Health Certification Gold”. With its Sicura Litho Nutri Eco, the company had developed a unique low migration UV offset ink range to support the launch of Werner & Mertz’s recyclable detergent bottle design meeting the highest Cradle to Cradle certification criteria. Since then, Siegwerk progressed to certify more ink solutions in particular for flexible packaging.
Currently, Siegwerk offers a solid set of C2C solutions industrially certified for Material Health which are suitable for different packaging types and printing technologies for both food and non-food applications. “Just recently we gained another ‘Cradle to Cradle Material Health Certification Gold’ for a solvent-based ink system specifically for the flexographic printing of polyolefinic monomaterials that are e.g. used for pouches, wrappers and similar,” says Dr. Haep. With this latest milestone development Siegwerk once again underlined its pioneering role in enabling packaging circularity by offering innovative ink solutions.